A scientific mapping campaign of the insular shelf of Santa Maria Island and the top of Formigas seamount is running until September 14 under the "PLATMAR project - Evolution of volcanic island shelves: the island of Santa Maria and implications for risk assessment, mapping habitats and management of marine aggregates."
 
The Regional Director for Sea Affairs stressed that this project, which uses acoustic technology, including a seismic and side-scan sonar and magnetometers, "is conducting the campaign on the research vessel 'Arquipélago' to map the entire insular shelf of Santa Maria in high resolution, up to 200 metres deep."
 
Filipe Porteiro stressed that, from a scientific standpoint, the project will bring new data that provide "an in-depth knowledge on the complex geology of the oldest Azorean island," noting that it will also "define risk management strategies associated with geological dynamics."
 
"The mapping project of Santa Maria contributes to the sustainable development of the 'blue economy' in the Azores," Regional Director said, emphasising that the data collected will be "extremely important for the updating of the Hydrographic Institute's nautical charts, a requirement for the promotion of safe navigation around the islands of the Azores."
 
PLATMAR will allow the mapping of the area and estimate the stocks of submerged sands, a “key information" in the sustainable management of this mineral resource," said Filipe Porteiro. He added that it will also "provide data to map the coastal habitats of the island, thus setting areas of interest for conservation and sustainable use of biological resources."
 
"The Regional Government has been promoting characterisation studies of resources in underwater areas located in the insular shelves of several Azorean islands for about a decade," the government official said, adding that mapping actions cover the islands of Faial, Pico, Sao Jorge, Flores and S. Miguel.
 
"The technology now used in the mapping campaign of the insular shelf of Santa Maria Island is more advanced," the government official said, adding that "maps will have an unprecedented resolution."
 
The mapping of coastal habitats is a requirement of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and the Habitats Directive of Natura 2000 network - the tools for the conservation of species and habitats in European seas.
 
"The information collected will be used for the efficient management of marine protected areas included in the Natural Parks of all islands," the Regional Director said, adding that "PLATMAR complements other projects under the Strategic Plan for the Regional Marine Environment (PEAMA)."
 
The full mapping and in high definition of the top of Formigas seamount, a nature reserve of Santa Maria Natural Park, "is a contribution of great impact for the conservation of their biological resources," said Filipe Porteiro.
 
In this context, the Regional Director defended that PLATMAR "improves the quality of maritime tourism activities," which are "increasingly relevant in the context of nature tourism, the activity that distinguishes the archipelago."
 
This project is led by the Hydrographic Institute in partnership with the Government of the Azores, through the Regional Directorate for Sea Affairs and IMAR/DOP.